People driving by Plumb Corner these days may have the same reaction that they had when the shopping area was being built and that would be a comment about how Rochester was changing. While change is real and often inevitable, there is a nearby spot at the intersection of Marion Road. and Mary’s Pond Road. that has an almost timeless quality.
It was the construction of the first meeting house near this spot in 1699 that led to the development of several local roadways. With the meeting house and the roads, this became the town center for Old Rochester in the 1700’s and remains the center of Rochester in the 2020’s. The meeting house is commemorated by a large boulder with a wide base and a narrow top and the brass tablet set into the stone reads, “Near this spot the town of Rochester built its first Meeting House in 1699. Here was organized the First Church of Rochester in 1703.”
Changes happened even then. There were a total of four meeting houses on or near the common over the years. The commemorative stone sits near the first one and on the actual spot of the second one built in 1717 when more room was needed.
In front of the stone are two items reminiscent of Rochester’s past when traveling involved horses rather than cars. The granite watering trough is 3 feet in length. Extending over this trough is a 2 and 1/2 tall wrought iron pump that sits on a wooden plank. When an archeological survey was done of Rochester’s historic areas in 1998, it was said that this pump was one of a few of this type left in Rochester and was similar to one found in Sherman Cemetery.
However, the 1998 pump while an antique had only been there 13 yrs. when the survey was done. In 1985, it was discovered that the historic pump had been stolen from its spot. The pump was an antique (no one knew how old it was) whose value was mostly sentimental and what happened to it still remains a mystery. Town residents were quick to offer replacement pumps. The selectmen vowed to set the chosen pump in concrete.
Along with the trough and pump is an arched top highway sign. It, too, has been there as long as anyone can remember. At one time, it also seemed to have disappeared, but it had only been taken down to be refurbished and was safely returned to its spot.
By Connie Eshbach